Device for removing putty from window sashes



June 6, 1939. L. E. HARMON, JR 2,161,040

DEVICE FOR REMOVING PUTTY FROM WINDOW SASHES Filed Jan. 6, 1937 INVENTORBY 0 WW ATTORNEYS Patented June 6, 1939 UNITED STATES FATENT OFFICEDEVICE FOR. REMOVING PUTTY FROM WIN- DOW SASHES 8 Claims.

This invention relates to an apparatus for removing putty from windowsashes and like supports upon which the glass panes have been secured bymeans of putty.

; It is well known that the removal of old putty preparatory toreplacing panesof glass which havebeen broken is difficult due to theputty having become dry and hard and also dangerous on account of theliability of the hands slipping against the broken glass while usingordinary tools for this purpose.

The object of this invention is to provide a simple and efiicientapparatus whereby old, hard and dry putty may be removed from windowsashes and the like in order to permit of reglazing the same and whichcan be operated easily and conveniently and permit the putty to beremoved expeditiously with safety to the operator.

In the accompanying drawing:

0 Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a putty remover embodying a satisfactoryform of my invention.

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the same.

Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section, on an enlarged scale, taken online 3-3, Fig. 1 and 5 showing the apparatus applied to a window sashfor removing putty from a bar thereof and the glass pane mountedthereon.

Figs. 4 and 5 are horizontal sections taken on the correspondinglynumbered lines in Fig. 3.

30 Fig. 6 is a fragmentary vertical section showing a form of rotarycutter or routing tool which may be used as part of the apparatus forremoving putty from a groove in a horizontal bar or rail of a windowsash which receives the edge of a 3'5 pane.

Fig. 7 is a horizontal section taken online '|-1, Fig. 6.

In the following description similar characters of reference indicatelike parts in the several fig- 4 ures of the drawing.

Referring to Fig. 3', the numeral Ill represents one of the supports,bars or frame members of a window sash, door or the like which containsan opening across which a transparent pane H of 45 glass extends. Thepane is mounted on this support by engaging one side of the edgeportionv of this pane with the shoulder l2 of a rabbet on the inner sideof the sash or the like and holding this pane in place by means of astrip I3 of putty 50 which engages with the opposite side of the edgeportion of the pane and the adjacent transverse wall M of this rabbet.It is well known that this putty in time becomes very hard due to thedrying out of the oil therein whenapplied in a plastic 55 state to: thepane and sash, and it is, therefore,

not only very difficult to remove the putty by ordinary tools but thisoperation also frequently causes injury to the hands when the puttyremoving tool slips.

Although the putty remover embodying my in- 5. vention may be variouslyconstructed as to its several details the same in its preferred form, asshown in the drawing, is constructed as follows:

The numeral [5 represents the main support,

base or'frame of the apparatus which preferably 10 has the form ofahorizontal plate made comparatively thin and provided on its undersidewith longitudinal flanges or ribs I6 and transverse ribs or flanges H inorder to stiffen the plate and thereby render the support very strongbut light and durable. This support or base is adapted to rest on theside of the sash member with its inner edge close to the transverse wallM of the rabbet.

In order to hold the support in place while removing the putty, meansare provided which preferably consist of two sharp pins or spurs l8arranged on the support close to its inner edge and adjacent to theinner corners thereof and proj ecting from its inner side so that thesepins may be pressed into the wood of the window sash or door close tothe rabbet wall I, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 3, thereby holdingthe support reliably against horizontal displacement.

Above the support is arranged a carriage which is movable lengthwise ofthe same and also vertically relative thereto in order that the puttycutting tool which is mounted on this carriage Y may be moved lengthwiseof the strip of putty during the operation of removing the same and alsoenable the putty cutting tool to be moved into and out of its operativeposition. In its preferred form this carriage comprises a horizontalplate l9 which is provided on its upper side with a transverse rib Zllso that the carriage as a whole is comparatively light and strong. Atits outer or rear end the rib of the carriage is provided with acylindrical bearing opening 2| which receives a longitudinal guide rod22 of cylindrical form in cross section arranged over the support !5adjacent to the outer edge thereof andsecured at its opposite ends toposts 23 rising from the ends of this support. By means of thisconstruction the carriage is capable of not only sliding lengthwise ofthe guide rod 22 but also capable of turning transversely or at rightangles to the axis of this rod due to the pivotal connection betweenthis carriage and the guide rod.

Upon the inner part of the carriage is mounted the cutting tool wherebythe putty is removed from the window sash or the like, which tool is somounted on the carriage that it is moved bodily therewith lengthwise ofthe strip of putty for engaging successive parts of the same during theremoving operation. In its preferred form this cutting tool is soconstructed that it acts upon the putty by a rotary motion in the mannerof a routing tool, and as shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 5, the same preferablycomprises a plurality of longitudinal cutting blades 24 which arearranged in an annular row and have their front or lower endsdisconnected from each other while their rear ends are connected by acircular head or disk 25. During the operation of this cutting tool thelower disconnected ends of its blades are engaged with the putty whilethe axis of the cutter is arranged parallel with the wall 54 of therabbet and the lower ends of these blades are close to or in engagementwith the adjacent side of the glass pane, as shown in Fig. 3. Uponrotating the cutter while in this position and also moving the samelengthwise of the strip of putty the latter will be cut away from thewindow sash or the like in the form of shavings or chips so as to leavethe rabbet of this sash clear of putty and enable the remnants of glassto be easily removed and a new pane inserted in the window sash andsecured in place by fresh putty. As the strip of putty is removed fromthe window sash the shavings or chips escape from the spaces betweenadjacent blades and are thrown to one side thereby preventing the cutterfrom becoming choked or clogged and also cleaning the surface on thetransverse wall I of the rabbet which receives the putty for holding thenew pane of glass in place.

The rotary movement of the cutter may be produced in various ways butpreferably by means of an upright shaft 26 which is journaled in asuitable bearing on the front part of the carriage and which is providedat its lower end with an externally screw threaded stem 2! entering athreaded opening in the cutter head 25 while its upper end is providedwith a laterally projecting crank 28 terminating in a handle 29 wherebythe shaft and the cutter mounted thereon may be turned manually.

For the purpose of enabling the rotary cutter to be adjusted verticallyin order to adapt the same to the depth or thickness of the strip ofputty which is to be removed the means for journaling the shaft of thecutter are so constructed that they also permit of adjusting the cuttershaft vertically relative to the carriage and the strip of putty, thesemeans being preferably constructed as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, asfollows:

The numeral 39 represents an upright bearing sleeve which turns with itsperiphery in a cylindrical bearing 3! formed vertically in the frontpart of the carriage and which receives in its bore the shaft 26. Thissleeve is held against vertical movement in its bearing by a collar 32at its upper end engaging with the upper side of the carriage rib it,and a retaining member 33 having preferably the form of a driving gearpinion secured by a screw joint to the lower end of the sleeve 35% andengaging with the underside of the carriage plate 59. On one part of itsperiphery the cutter shaft 6 is provided with a longitudinally flattenedface which is engaged by the inner end of a clamping screw 35 arrangedin a thread opening formed in the collar 32 of the bearing sleeve andprovided at its outer end with thumb Wings 36 for turning this screw.Upon loosening this clamping screw the cutter shaft may be raised andlowered in the sleeve 30 until the rotary cutter is in the properposition relative to the strip of putty which is to be removed andthereafter the clamping screw is tightened for holding the cutter shaftagainst vertical movement in this sleeve.

Means are provided whereby the carriage is caused to move automaticallylengthwise of the strip of putty at the same time that the rotary cutteris turned, thereby causing the cutter to operate progressively on thestrip of putty and gradually remove the same. Although various means maybe employed for this purpose those shown in the drawing have been foundsatisfactory and are constructed as follows:

The numeral 3? represents a longitudinal gear rack arranged on the upperside of the support l5 and preferably formed integrally therewith forthe purpose of reducing the cost of manufacture.

The teeth of the gear rack El intermesh with a driven gear pinion 38which is arranged on the underside of an intermediate gear Wheel 39 andpreferably formed integrally therewith. This intermediate gear wheel isarranged on the underside of the carriage and has a hub 4-8 which fitsin a circular recess M in the carriage, thereby aiding in centering theintermediate gear wheel and the driven gear pinion 38 relative to thecarriage and gear rack. The intermediate gear wheel and driven pinion 38are secured to the lower end of an upright arbor 2 by means of atransverse retaining pin 33, this arbor being journaled with its upperpart in a bearing opening 46 formed in the central part of the carriageand provided at its upper end with a head G5 which engages with a recess46 in the upper side of the carriage rib, as best shown in Fig. 3.Engagement of the arbor head 35 and the intermediate gear wheel 39 withthe upper and undersides of the carriage serves to hold these partsagainst vertical displacement relative to each other.

The intermediate gear wheel 39 meshes with the driving gear pinion 33 onthe lower end of the bearing sleeve 39 and as the driving and drivenpinions are of smaller diameter than that of the intermediate gear wheel39 a speed reducing effect is produced, whereby the rotary cutter willbe turned a large number of times as compared with the number ofrotations of the driven gear pinion, so that the carriage will be movedlengthwise of the strip of putty at a comparatively slow rate while thecutter will be turned at a relatively high speed, thereby insuring theproduction of a multiplicity of cutting actions on the putty as thecutter is moved bodily and thus insure complete removal of the puttyfrom the rabbet of the window sash and leave an even flat surfacethereon which will permit complete removal of any glass remnants andenable replacement by a new pane to be effected without difficulty.

Preparatory to using this apparatus the carriage is turned upwardlyrelative to the support in order to permit of conveniently attachingthis support to the wooden bar of the window sash, door or the like fromwhich the putty is to be removed, and then the carriage is movedlengthwise of this support into the desired position for engaging thecutter with the strip of putty, this operation also engaging the drivengear pinion with the gear rack. Upon now rotating the shaft by means ofthe handle the cutter will turn and also move bodily along the strip ofputty so as to remove whatever remnants of the same may have been left'on the window" sash. Ifthe. putty is only present in pieces or patcheson different parts of the rabbet of the window sash thecarriageandtheparts mounted thereon can be quickly shifted lengthwise from one part ofthe rabbet to another by lifting the carriage sufficiently to disengagethe driven gear pinion from the rack and when the cutter has beenbrought in line with the part of'therabbet from which putty is toberemoved then the carriage is again swung downwardly for engaging thecutter with the respective part of the putty and also reengaging thedriven gear pinion with the gear rack so as to restore the automaticfeeding operation of the carriage.

These operations can be performed with ease and facility and thus permitthe strips of putty to be removed from the rabbets of the window sasheasily and quickly, thereby materially reducing the cost of doing thiswork.

Moreover the removal of the putty can be effected without running therisk of cutting the hands by contact with splinters of glass whichfrequently occurs when removing old putty from window sash in the mannerpracticed heretofore.

In some forms of window sash the upper cross bar 41 of the sash isprovided with a groove 48 at the corner between the shoulder 49 and wall58 of its rabbet, as shown in Fig. '6, which groove receives the upperedge of a windowpane, a tight joint being produced between this pane andthe respective part of the sash by filling the vacant space in thisgroove by putty. For the purpose of removing the putty and remnants ofglass which may be present in the groove 48 preparatory to reglazingthis sash, a cutter may be employed of the character shown in Figs. 6and '7. In its preferred form this last mentioned cutter consists of ahub connected by means of a screw joint withthe lower end of the cuttershaft 26 and provided at its lower end with a plurality of laterallyprojecting blades 52 which are arranged in an annular row and adapted tosweep through the groove 48 upon rotating this cutter and also to engagewith successive parts of this groove upon moving the cutter lengthwisethereof by means of the automatic shifting mechanism shown in Figs; 1,2, 3'and 4.

As a whole this apparatus is comparatively simple in construction andcomposed of relatively few parts which are not liable to get out oforder and the same can be'readily adapted to various window sashes orthe like and operated conveniently for removing old, hard puttyefficientlymounted on said support and connected with 013- posite endsof said rod. I

2. A putty remover comprising a normally stationary support adapted torest on a sash or the like from which the putty is to be removed,

a longitudinal guide rod mounted on said support, a carriage having anopening in its rear I part which receives said rod and whereby saidcarriage is slidable and also rotatable on the same, an upright shaftjournaled on the front part of said carriage, and a cutter mounted onsaid shaftfand adapted to engage the putty on the sash.

3'. A. putty remover comprising a normally stationary support adapted torest-on a sash or the like'from which-the putty is tobe removed, alongitudinal guide rod mounted on said support, a carriagehaving anopening in its rear part which receives said-- rod' and: whereby saidcarriage is slid'able and also rotatable'on the same, an upright sha-ft:journaled. on the front part of said carriage and provided at its upperend with a hand crank for turning the same, and a rotary cutter mountedon the lower end of the shaft and adapted to engage the putty to beremoved.

4. A putty remover comprising a normally stationary support adapted torest on the sash or the like from which the putty is to be removed, acarriage movable lengthwise on said support and also rotatable on thesame, a rotary cutter adapted to engage the putty to be removed, a shaftupon which said cutter is mounted, means whereby said shaft is rotatablymounted on said carriage, and meansfor adjusting said shaft lengthwiseof its axis for adapting the cutter to the thickness of the putty.

5. A putty remover comprising a normally stationary support adapted torest on the sash or the thickness of the putty, including an uprightbearing sleeve which is journaled on said carriage and in which saidshaft is adjustable lengthwise.

6. A putty remover comprising a support adapted to rest on the sash orthe like from which the putty is to be removed, a carriage movablelengthwise on said support, a rotary cutter adapted to engage the puttyto be removed, a shaft upon which said cutter is mounted, means wherebysaid shaft is rotatably mounted on said carriage, and means foradjusting said shaft lengthwise of its axis for adapting the cutter tothe thickness of the putty, including an upright bearing sleeve which isjournaled on said carriage and in which said shaft is adjustablelengthwise, said shaft having a longitudinally flattened face, and aclamping screw mounted on said sleeve and engaging with said flattenedface of the shaft.

'7. A putty remover comprising a support adapted to rest on the sash orthe like from, which the putty is to be removed, a carriage movablelengthwise on said support, a rotary cutter adapted to engage the puttyto be removed, a

shaft upon which said cutter is mounted, means whereby said shaft isrotatably mounted on said carriage, and means for adjusting said shaftlengthwise of its axis for adapting the cutter to the thickness of theputty, including any upright sleeve which is journaled on said carriageand in which said shaft is adjustable lengthwise, a collar arranged atthe upper end of said sleeve and engaging with the upper side of saidcarriage, a retaining member detachably connected with the lower end ofsaid sleeve and engaging with the lower side of said carriage, saidshaft having a flattened face, and a clamping screw arranged in saidcollar and engaging said flattened face of the shaft. 7 i 8. A puttyremover comprising a support adapted to rest on the sash or the likefrom which gaging with the upper side of said carriage, a driving gearpinion secured to the shaft and engaging the underside of said carriage,an intermediate gear wheel meshing with said driving pinion, a drive-ngear pinion turning with said. 5

intermediate gear wheel, a longitudinal gear rack on the support meshingwith said driven gear pinion, and means vfor adjusting said shaftlengthwise in said sleeve.

LAWRENCE E. HARMON, JR.

